Sunday, February 1, 2009

Know Thyself, Nothing to Excess

I feel in consideration of this quote there are two aspects to discover.
The first deals with the fact that our world is interconnected and nothing stands on its own. With this, one hopefully comes to the realization that there is no "us" and "them." The world is like a pond, and if a stone is throne in anywhere it will ripple through the entirety. So in this way I agree with Loeb that an attempt to pull away or not be involved is akin to performing a harm directly upon oneself.
However, in addition, there is something to be said for the individual and introspection. Although I do not think it is the intent of the writer to discount this by any means, I feel it is important to note when considering selfishness vs. altruism. "One cannot remove the sliver in the eye of another when suffering from a plank in one's own." To me this means, quite simply, that if one is altruistic at the complete disregard of the self, one is quickly found in a position of not being able to help anyone at all. In addition, I feel there is a lesson about perspective and critical analysis. It is important to temper our actions with reason and purpose.
In truth I feel a synthesis of inwardly- and outwardly-directed concern and consideration is the most sustainable and effective overall.
In my personal experience, if I feel something is excessively extreme or that it harms or impedes the liberties of another, I can be quite outspoken and do not hesitate to act. However, in issues either new to my awareness or those which I feel are deserving further debate I feel it is important to listen.
After all, constantly talking is not necessarily communicating.

1 comment:

Dr. V said...

Dirk:
I completely agree and think that sometimes, individuals speak without throughly knowing about the topic or because "someone" told them about it. Many do not have the basic facts and if we intend to speak out or up about an issue, we should think in terms of the perspective and seriouly analyze the topic before commenting...